Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Gap Up to $29.91

Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $29.91, but opened at $33.15. Vital Farms shares last traded at $38.80, with a volume of 498,915 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VITL shares. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Vital Farms from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vital Farms from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Vital Farms from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

Vital Farms Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.09 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $135.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.10 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 5.42%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, Director Karl Khoury sold 4,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.27, for a total value of $85,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 155,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,317.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 36,948 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.07, for a total transaction of $926,286.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 368,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,244,637.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karl Khoury sold 4,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.27, for a total transaction of $85,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 155,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,317.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,580,996 in the last 90 days. 30.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,650,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,613,000 after purchasing an additional 224,335 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 116.1% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,056,000 after buying an additional 463,471 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 79.3% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 524,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,075,000 after acquiring an additional 231,985 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 19.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 477,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,109,000 after acquiring an additional 77,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 82.1% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 373,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,681,000 after acquiring an additional 168,296 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, Inc, a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.